Directed by:
David Burton MorrisCinematography:
John L. Demps Jr.Composer:
Dan WoolCast:
Bonnie Bedelia, Hedy Burress, Barry Flatman, Mimi Kuzyk, Paul Popowich, Nigel Bennett, Fiona Reid, Shawn Ashmore, Sada Thompson, Cameron Mathison, Peter Keleghan, Adrian Hough, Gerry Mendicino (more)Plots(1)
One of the most controversial (and widely-reported) stories of the early 1990s is vividly dramatized in this made-for-cable movie. In 1992, Allen Schindler, a navy sailor serving on the USS Belleau Wood, is savagely beaten to death while on leave in Japan. Allen's grieving mother Dorothy Hajdys-Holman (Bonnie Bedelia) becomes even more distraught when the representatives of the United States Navy refuse to provide her with full details on her son's murder. Then comes the ultimate shock: A newspaper reporter informs Dorothy that her son was gay, and that this might have been the reason he was killed. But if the Navy has anything to say about it, the entire matter will be swept under the rug, with Dorothy remaining as much in the dark as the rest of the world: A deal has already been cut with one of Allen's killers, who after a secret court-martial is given what amounts to a legal slap on the wrist. Radicalized by the incident and its aftermath, Dorothy joins forces with a crusading journalist to force the Navy to reveal the whole truth--and she isn't about to let the court-martial of Allen's other assailant to be conducted behind closed doors! The upshot of this high-profile case was the creation of the Service Members' Legal Defense Network, assuring that no branch of the armed services would ever again be able to conspire to cover up a major crime. Its title selected by the real-life Dorothy Hajdys-Holman, who served as the film's technical advisor (not surprisingly, the Navy refused to cooperate at all). (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Bonnie Bedelia
USA
Best movies:
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard 2 (1990)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
Hedy Burress
USA
Best movies:
The Animatrix (2003)
Bug (2002)
If These Walls Could Talk (1996) (TV movie)
Barry Flatman
Canada
Best movies:
The Company (2007) (series)
The Dead Zone (1983)
The Wrong Guy (1997)
Mimi Kuzyk
Canada
Best movies:
Little Criminals (1995) (TV movie)
Lost and Delirious (2001)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Paul Popowich
Canada
Best movies:
Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) (TV movie)
Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller (1988)
When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (2010) (TV movie)
Nigel Bennett
UK
Best movies:
Harrison Bergeron (1995) (TV movie)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Gotti (1996) (TV movie)
Fiona Reid
UK
Best movies:
Breakfast with Scot (2007)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Switching Channels (1988)
Shawn Ashmore
Canada
Best movies:
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
X-Men 2 (2003)
X-Men (2000)
Sada Thompson
USA
Best movies:
Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) (TV movie)
Marco Polo (1982) (series)
Pollock (2000)
Cameron Mathison
Canada
Best movies:
54 (1998)
Window Wonderland (2013) (TV movie)
Very, Very Valentine (2018) (TV movie)
Peter Keleghan
Canada
Best movies:
The Grand Seduction (2013)
Jericho Mansions (2003)
The Real Blonde (1997)
Adrian Hough
Best movies:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Gerry Mendicino
Canada
Best movies:
Lucky # Slevin (2006)
The Interrogation of Michael Crowe (2002) (TV movie)
Gotti (1996) (TV movie)
Matthew Bennett
Canada
Best movies:
Battlestar Galactica (2003) (TV movie)
Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) (TV movie)
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
Jane Moffat
Best movies:
Interstate 60 (2002)
The Recruit (2003)
Mama (2013)
Judah Katz
Canada
Best movies:
Cinderella Man (2005)
Guns (2008) (TV movie)
The Company (2007) (series)
Michael Rhoades
Best movies:
Interstate 60 (2002)
A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000) (series)
Flash of Genius (2008)
Scott Gibson
Best movies:
Nuremberg (2000) (TV movie)
Lucky # Slevin (2006)
The Hurricane (1999)
Phillip Jarrett
Best movies:
The Hurricane (1999)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Exit Wounds (2001)
Andrew Tarbet
USA
Best movies:
La caza (2019) (series)
I Want You (2012)
The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) (TV movie)